Audrey Erdman

Audrey Faye Baer Erdman passed peacefully from this life on the evening of Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at the age of 89- four days shy of her 90th birthday- after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was surrounded by a family she loved deeply.

Some women leave this world quietly. Audrey was never one of them. She faced the final chapter the way she had faced every other challenge of her remarkable life: with strength, stubbornness, and entirely on her own terms.

She left behind a life that was anything but ordinary - a life built through grit, determination, courage, fierce independence and a refusal to accept “no” simply because norms said it should be so.

Audrey made her entrance into the world on August 9, 1936 in Riley, KS at her grandparents’ farmhouse on a record-setting 115-degree day, the hottest temperature recorded on that day in the state of Kansas. Anyone who knew Audrey would say that sounds about right. Audrey didn’t do quiet arrivals. She didn’t do “quiet” anything!

Audrey was the fourth child of eight born to Frederick and Margaret Baer and she grew up in Topeka surrounded by siblings who remained close to her for the rest of her life, gathering for reunions that Audrey never missed and often ran.

She graduated from Topeka High School in 1954 where she was already showing the world exactly who she was, campaigning for class officer under the slogan “Vote for the Baer with the Chartreuse Hair”. She then dyed her blonde hair with green food coloring which would’ve been taboo in those days - funny, fearless and impossible to ignore.

Audrey was married in September, 1954 and before long she began raising a family. She and her first husband had three children - Cathy, Mike and Pam.

The family moved to Wamego, Kansas in 1960 and like most women of her generation, Audrey came to be a stay-at-home mom, but even then ‘staying home’ hardly described her. She was a Boy Scout leader, taught summer Bible school, coached softball, became a certified lifeguard because if you needed watching over, Audrey was going to be the one doing it. She never missed a ball game or an event in which her children participated, a tradition that was carried through with her grand-children and great grand-children.

Audrey once entered a demolition derby in Manhattan, KS as the lone woman driver. And if you’re picturing her grinning the whole time, you’re picturing it right. She loved boating, water skiing, camping and was also quite sharp at skeet shooting. She was a competitive bowler on teams with women who became lifelong friends.

In 1966, their family returned to Topeka, KS and Audrey went back to work. She passed the state real estate exam and excelled in real estate sales for Bob Lee Realtors, stepping into an industry that, at that time, wasn’t especially interested in making room for her. Banks doubted. Colleagues underestimated.

For the better part of 50 years, she put her “can do” spirit into full gear.and became a top producer year after year, decade after decade, until she was no longer being underestimated.. She received numerous industry honors and recognition. She was a broker and sales manager for several real estate companies until she eventually ventured out to start her own company.

She was tough, candid, fiercely loyal to the people she loved, and utterly unbothered by anyone who found her to be too much. She was exactly who she needed to be.

Audrey met her soulmate and the love of her life, Dr. Stephen Ferro, at a mutual friend's house on Thanksgiving Day of 1978 and on December 3rd, 1983, she married him - this time, for keeps. Together they built a life that grew to include four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren who knew her as “Mema” and him as “Pepa.

Her grandchildren grew up with Mema and Pepa’s house as one of their favorite places to be. From Christmas sleepovers to afternoons in the backyard pool and pontoon rides on the lake. Time with Mema was rarely a quiet affair, and that was exactly the point. Those traditions became some of the memories her “grands” and “greats” would carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Audrey and Steve were blessed to celebrate their 42nd anniversary in 2025. Steve preceded her in death on May 7, 2026 and it is one of the quiet mercies of this moment to imagine the two of them together again.

Audrey left behind a wide, devoted circle of friends and family who loved her without reservation because Audrey loved that way first. She came into this world on one of the hottest days Kansas has ever recorded, and she spent 89 years making sure nobody around her ever settled for “lukewarm.”

She built something out of nothing, raised three children, largely on her own, broke into a business that didn’t welcome her, and made it hers anyway and never once apologized for taking up space.

The world is a little less fierce, a little less funny and a lot less brave without her in it.

Rest easy, Mema along with our beloved Pepa - he’s waiting for you on the corner.

Together forever.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at 2:00 P.M. at Dove Southwest Chapel, 3700 SW Wanamaker Road, Topeka, Kansas, 66610.